Born to Fight (Can't Resist You Book 1)

by Brittany Anne

  “In the bunker, I told you I was an orphan,” she began, recalling their dinner conversation. “I lied.”

  She stared at him and waited for something, anything, but he was a statue.

  She licked her lower lip. “I knew both of my parents, but they sold me to the highest bidder when I was sixteen years old. I was made a prisoner. I was tortured. I-I barely escaped.” Her heartbeat was picking up pace again. “When I got out of the prison, I went to my old home. Except my father alerted the UNR that I was there.”

  The words were coming fast now, moisture welling up in her eyes. She just kept going. “I was devastated. I knew that he’d been cold to me all my life, and that he’d sold me to those monsters, but I just thought that somewhere deep down, somewhere he was still my dad and he still loved me…”

  Two tears fell from her eyes. She couldn’t hold them back. “I ran as quickly as I could. Two men followed me; I guess they thought I’d be easy to catch.”

  “How’d you lose them?” he finally spoke.

  Rain swallowed. “I didn’t.”

  Now the tears poured freely, falling down her cheeks and making it harder to talk. “They got me. I couldn’t outrun them. I tried so hard but I just couldn’t outrun them…” She took a deep breath to steady herself.

  Hunter’s hand wiped the tears from her cheek, brushed her hair behind her ear, and cradled her face. “You don’t have to keep talking, Rain. Not if it hurts you this badly.”

  “I do,” she said. “I need to say the words out loud so that you know what kind of person I really am.”

  He stared at her with his face scrunched up in confusion, but allowed her to go on, nonetheless.

  “I was desperate to escape, but I didn’t ever want to hurt anybody.” It was the truth. It never crossed her mind. “They started talking about having fun with me before they brought me back, about having play time first.” Even using their terminology forced bile into her throat.

  Hunter’s face was stone, but Rain could see the anger seething beneath his schooled expression. She kept talking. “When they thought I’d play along, they lowered their guard. Like I wanted them to.”

  Hunter’s hand was still on her face, warm and strong and comforting. He was about to reject her forever, about to realize what a monster she was. She memorized the way his hand felt when it touched her in kindness.

  “I had a knife in my waistband.” Rain never planned to hurt anybody, but she would kill and die before she went back to that monster, before the torture continued, before anybody else laid a hand on her again. “I pulled that knife out and stabbed them both with it.” Saying the words out loud shocked even herself. “The first one went down easy. He didn’t expect me to fight back. The second one was a struggle, but he underestimated me, too. I refused to be a victim for another minute. I didn’t stay long enough to find out, but I- I think I killed them.”

  She waited. Seconds felt like hours. She waited for Hunter’s disgust, for his rejection, for his judgement. All of which, she knew, she deserved.

  In a split second, Rain found herself in his arms. He brushed her hair down with his hand, wrapped the other tightly around the arch of her back. She was frozen for a moment, and then melted into him.

  After a few moments had passed, she finally regained her composure enough to speak, “You don’t think I’m a terrible person?”

  Hunter held in a laugh. “Baby, no. I pray to God you did kill those two men, because if you didn’t and I find them, they’ll be praying for a quick death.” Rain felt the confusion on her face. “I would never let anybody hurt you. And any man who tries is a dead man.” He paused and raised an eyebrow. “Do you know how many people I’ve killed, Rain?”

  She shivered. “No.”

  “Probably more people than you’ve ever known. And I killed them without a second thought. Yet here you are, feeling guilty for defending yourself against two monsters.” His eyes fell from hers and he seemed to go to another place. “What does that say about me?”

  “It says you’re a hero.”

  “Or a monster.”

  “You risked your life to save an innocent woman. You carried me for miles in your arms after we were attacked. You are a leader in the Resistance, fighting to build a life for people where they don’t have to spend every minute afraid.” Rain felt a chuckle rise in her throat. “You’re the man I spent my entire life praying for but didn’t think existed.”

  Now his eyes were on hers again, and she knew he was here, he was back.

  “Is that what your life has been? Fear?”

  Rain felt the realization hit her at the same time that she spoke it. “Not since I’ve met you.”

  Hunter’s hand was still warm on her face, his thumb massaging circles into her cheek. “You’ll never have to be afraid again, Rain. I’ll make sure of it.”

  He let go of her and began walking away, continuing on their path down the dirt hall. Rain felt a million emotions at once. Relief, fear, acceptance, confusion, and… lust. She stared at Hunter walking away, and found herself calling out to him. Before she could stop herself, she had run towards him, thrown her arms around his neck, and crushed her lips onto his.

  She didn’t even have the time to mentally scold herself. In a second, she was in his arms, legs wrapped around his waist, being pressed up against the cold wall as Hunter devoured her.

  His lips moved against hers, his tongue meeting hers as a moan escaped her throat. She felt his hands slide down her back, her hips, her ass. His touch left a trail of fire everywhere it went, and all she could think about was more. She wanted so much more with Hunter.

  His body was rock hard… all of his body. Rain could feel his length pressing into her, making her nipples tighten and ache with want.

  A groan rumbled in Hunter’s chest, and then he broke the kiss, pulling back. Rain was still in his arms, he was still between her legs, both of their breathing still shallow with the passion of their kiss.

  “We can’t, Rain,” he said.

  His words felt like a knife to her gut. “You don’t want me?” Her voice faltered. She hated it.

  “Hell yes I want you. I’ve never wanted anybody as much as I want you.” He sounded so sincere. So why wasn’t he acting that way?

  Hunter’s hard arousal was still pressing against her.

  “This is the second time you’ve done this.”

  Hunter looked down. Agreement. His gaze found its way back to her eyes. “It’s too dangerous, baby. I can’t put you in danger. That’s why I’ve been staying away from you for the past couple weeks.”

  Rain felt a pang of hurt. “You were doing that on purpose?” She’d assumed he’d been busy. Or maybe she just told herself that because she couldn’t believe that he’d purposefully avoid her and leave her as a prisoner in this new place that he had brought her to against her will.

  He slowly dropped her to the floor. Thank God. She took a step back from him.

  “It’s for you, Rain. You have to know that. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

  She took a deep breath and let his words sink in. “The only one I see hurting me right now is you, Hunter.”

  He just stared at her, his golden eyes looking almost sad. Almost.

  “I’m sorry, Rain. It’s for the best.”

  She could only see red.

  “You know, Hunter, I learned a long, long time ago that you can’t trust people. I should’ve never broken my rules for you.” She spun on her heel and began walking away, chewing on the inside of her cheek to try and keep calm.

  “Rain!”

  She just kept walking.

  Chapter Eight

  “HOW OFTEN DO YOU do these?” Rain asked.

  Kayla licked a bit of sticky sugar off her finger. Surely, a side effect of working with children all day. Then, she shrugged. “Really, whenever necessary. There’s no set schedule for them.” She licked her thumb again before continuing. “Maybe once every two or three weeks?”

  Rain nodd
ed. She looked around the large room, taking in the movements. She was still getting used to being around so many people, but she no longer wanted to shut down and run. She even noticed some familiar faces.

  She could see Derek walking through the crowd, greeting people as he strolled through. He seemed friendly from her observations. Then, there was Hayden, tucked away in a corner, quiet as usual. Of course, Sawyer, who stood on the platform at the front of the room and looked about, his eyes conveniently lingering on Kayla’s continued attempts at getting the melted sugar off of her finger tips.

  She didn’t see Hunter.

  “So who is the actual leader? Sawyer, right?” Rain asked.

  Kayla smiled at his name. “Sawyer, Derek, Hunter, and Hayden our the leaders.”

  “But Sawyer is in charge.” Rain knew that from the way the others acted around him.

  Kayla tilted her head to the side. “The men of the group all came together and voted for Sawyer to be the head of the Resistance.” She paused and seemed to get lost in thought. “Well, kind of. From what I understand, they voted for Hunter, but he refused.”

  Now she was confused. “Why would Hunter refuse?”

  “We don’t really know. But Sawyer is the leader, now. Technically.”

  “Technically?” Rain was trying very hard to understand the dynamics of the Resistance.

  “The four of them, they are the leaders. Hayden controls intel, he is in charge of all the information that comes in. He’s kinda a strategist. Then Derek… Derek is in charge of the things that go on here. He makes sure we’re all doing well. Hunter leads all excursions and combat missions. And Sawyer heads it all. He makes sure all the different pieces fit together.”

  So Hunter is the soldier? Rain thought to herself. She could see that.

  She opened her mouth to ask more questions, but a hush fell over the crowd as Sawyer began speaking. Apparently, group meetings were called every couple of weeks, and everyone was supposed to be in attendance.

  So where was Hunter?

  She hadn’t seen him for nearly two weeks. Not since their kiss… not since he admitted he was avoiding her.

  Sawyer discussed several things, things that seemed silly, even. Daycare schedules, chore lists, weather predictions… Rain had spent all her life dreaming of the Resistance and what it would mean for the world, and now here she was, living with these larger than life heroes, only to find out they were as human as anyone else.

  Maybe they were more human. Maybe that was their secret.

  “Alright, now, last call of business. We need two volunteers to go on a supply run. Specifics will be discussed privately, but it will be a safe trip compared to our normal runs. Volunteers?” Sawyer looked around the room.

  Murmurs filled the space, and Rain found herself fantasizing about the outdoors, about the green grass and blue skies and tall trees. She turned to Kayla.

  “Can anyone volunteer?” she asked.

  Kayla’s eyes widened, but she nodded.

  Rain stepped forward, throwing her hand into the air to get Sawyer’s attention. “I’ll go!”

  The crowd fell dead silent as Rain felt about a hundred questioning stares on her. Her stomach tightened, but she continued forward towards Sawyer.

  Finally, she was close enough to talk at a normal volume. “I will go,” she repeated.

  Sawyer stared down at her for a moment, then looked around. “Are you sure? You’re still new here…”

  “I’m sure. I’d like to do my part.” She waited. Sawyer looked around again.

  “We have one,” he shouted. “Who will join her?”

  The crowd was quiet, some distant whispers being exchanged that were unidentifiable to Rain.

  A deep, masculine voice thundered from the back of the room. “I will go.”

  Everyone turned, Rain included, but she didn’t need to. She’d know that voice anywhere.

  “Are you sure about that, Hunter? Shouldn’t you be getting back to your work?” Sawyer asked.

  Hunter continued forward, the crowd parting for him as he moved. “I’ll go.”

  Rain turned back to Sawyer, who rolled his eyes and lifted a shoulder. “So be it,” he murmured under his breath, barely loud enough for her to make out. “We’re all finished here, then. Hunter and Rain, be ready at dawn. Everyone else… until next time,” he said to the crowd.

  Everyone began to disperse.

  What just happened?

  ***

  Hunter walked beside Rain in silence. The trees whistled in the steady breeze while the smell of the earth filled his nose and reminded him of their long days together at the bunker sitting outside, soaking up the sun, taking in the simple pleasures like the smell of fresh grass and the joy of each other’s company.

  He pressed on, intent on the mission. They were searching for a special kind of drug, and that’s all Sawyer would give him. Which was odd; Sawyer never kept things from Hunter.

  “So this isn’t exactly how you avoid somebody,” Rain said, breaking the silence.

  He turned towards her. “I wasn’t avoiding you,” he quickly replied. I was protecting you, which is what I’m doing right now.

  She rolled her eyes.

  Hunter looked her over, his eyes getting caught on her perfect curves, beautifully hugged by pale blue jeans. She wore a slim-fitting black shirt, long sleeved and going up to her neck. Her long brown hair cascaded down her back, bouncing with each step she took and flowing from side to side.

  She was stunning.

  Hunter forced himself to look away and put his eyes back on the road ahead of him.

  “So Kayla tells me that you’re the soldier.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “The soldier?”

  “She told me that you’re the one in charge of fighting.”

  “What else did Kayla tell you?” Hunter asked suspiciously.

  “Is that true?” Rain ignored his question.

  He sighed. “Yes.”

  “She told me that the group chose you as their leader and you refused.”

  Hunter tightened his jaw and continued walking.

  Rain didn’t get the hint. “Why?”

  Fine. She was honest with him about her escape, wasn’t she? “If you ask anyone in there, they will say that my father created the Resistance.” He considered his words. “I guess he did, in a way. And he would’ve been a helluva leader.” Hunter listened to the leaves crunching beneath their feet as they walked.

  “They chose me because of him, but I wasn’t him. He made me into a fighter, but I wasn’t a leader.” That wasn’t the whole truth… “Hell, I didn’t want to be one. I saw what it did to him. To my mom. To me…” His voice trailed off.

  “Is that how they died?” Rain spoke quietly.

  “Yes,” Hunter admitted. “They were both killed by UNR soldiers when I was sixteen years old.”

  Rain shoved in front of him and wrapped her arms around his torso. He tried to shut down the emotions he felt, to hold them in and pretend he was unphased.

  They had different plans.

  He hugged her back, pulling her into him and breathing in the calming smell of lavender that always hung around Rain.

  “I’m so sorry, Hunter.” He loved the sound of her voice. She was an angel. He needed to explain himself to her… she deserved at least that.

  “Listen, Rain,” he began, pulling back from her. “My father chose to rebel, to fight back, to find and train others who would fight with him. That was his choice. My mother chose to love him. Because of his choices, he was killed. And because she loved him, she was, too.”

  Rain’s eyebrows furrowed as her tongue flicked out over her lower lip. “I don’t understand.”

  Hunter brushed his hand over her cheek, staring into those gorgeous eyes of hers. “I didn’t have a choice. My father chose for me… I would be a fighter. I am a fighter. I’d like to believe I do good in this world.” He paused. “Since the day I watched my parents die, I’ve never felt fear. I’ve never
faltered. I’ve never second-guessed. I was a machine. I tracked, hunted, and killed. That’s who I was.”

  “Was?” she asked.

  “Was.” He feathered his thumb over her lower lip, plump and pink and pouting. He slid his hand down her neck, her shoulder, her arm, intertwining his fingers with hers and urging her forward. They continued walking.

  “Ever since you came into my life, things changed. For the first time in more than fifteen years, I feel afraid.”

  “Why?”

  He could feel her gaze on him, but he did not turn.

  “For the first time since I lost my parents, I found something I’m afraid of losing. Something I care about so deeply, that I know my enemies could use it against me. And I know that I’d give them whatever they wanted if it meant keeping you safe.”

  Hunter heard her breath hitch. She tried to slow, but he pressed on, and she matched his pace.

  “I wasn’t avoiding you, Rain. I was trying to protect you. My mom died because my father made choices and those choices put her in harm’s way.” They walked out of the trees and into a familiar clearing. “I didn’t want to take your choice away.”

  He released Rain’s hand and she stepped forward, each step slow and careful. Then she turned towards him, surprise on her face and tears welling in her eyes. “My bunker? What are we doing here?”

  “I can’t think of anywhere safer than the headquarters of the Resistance. There are more than fifty men in there that would lay down their lives in an instant for you. But it’s not up to me. That’s not my choice.”

  Rain lifted the hatch and motioned Hunter down, and he happily obliged, descending the ladder after her and closing the hatch behind them. She walked around the small area, sliding her fingers over the different surfaces, her old belongings.

  Then she turned towards him, green eyes alive and sparkling. “Is being safer the only reason you want me at the Resistance headquarters?” she asked.

  Hunter stepped forward. “Yes.”

  “Nothing else?”

  Hunter sighed. She knew him better than that. “I want you safe, but you’ve been protecting yourself just fine for years. I don’t want you to be alone, but I know you enjoy your own company. I want you there because I want to be close to you. I want you to be in my life.”